Tribeca Film Festival 2008 Wrap Up
Describing the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival brings to mind the story of three blind men using their hands to describe an elephant. The man at the trunk describes the elephant one way, while the man at the tail describes the elephant another way and the man at the side has still a different evaluation of the pachyderm. Since the offerings at any film festival are untested commodities, past festival experience has taught me that the best choices are usually the documentaries. My theory bore me about again this year, at least from my perch atop the beast. Since, with over 100 films in venues all over town, it is impossible to see everything, here is what I saw and what I thought: (more…)
Theatre of War (Tribeca Film Festival)
It is amazing how much ground director John Walter (“How to Draw a Bunny” 2002) covers in his new documentary “Theatre of War,” which had its premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is, on the one hand, a “behind the scenes” look at New York’s Public Theatre’s 2006 staging of German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s anti war play “Mother Courage,” written in 1939. The 2006 production featured Merryl Streep in the title role and was staged at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, as part of that summer’s “Shakespeare in the Park” festival. “Theatre of War” is also a crash course on Marxism, Brecht’s life, and Karl Marx’s influence on Brecht’s work. The documentary also examines Brecht’s own staging of “Mother Courage,” preserved in detailed photographs and audio recordings. All this in only 95 minutes. (more…)
Lake City (Tribeca Film Festival)
On April 26 The Tribeca Film Festival, as part of its “Behind the Screens” series, presented “Lake City” at the DGA Theatre, featuring a post screening discussion with the film’s star Sissy Spacek, moderated by Dade Hayes, assistant managing editor of “Variety.” The film is a drama about a family reconnecting while dealing with its past. (more…)
Man on Wire (Tribeca Film Festival)
“It was like a bank robbery,” a middle aged Philippe Petit remembers fondly, referring to the planning and execution of his famous August 7, 1974 high wire walk between New York’s Twin Towers in “Man on Wire,” one of the best documentaries featured at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. “Man on Wire” is a suspenseful, joyous, funny, riveting, breath taking account that covers seemingly every detail that went into Petit’s walk (more…)
This is Not a Robbery (Tribeca Film Festival)
“This is Not a Robbery” is a hilarious, poignant “off the wall” documentary about J.L. “Red” Rountree who became a serial bank robber…at age 87. Using no weapons, and only a large envelope marked “Robbery” J.L. would approach tellers, who he knew were trained not to resist a hold up, and get them to hand over their money. (more…)
Redbelt (Tribeca Film Festival Premiere)
On April 25 I attended the gala premiere of “Redbelt,” David Mamet’s new film, at the Tribeca Film Festival. While one does not normally associate Mamet with martial arts, Mamet’s characters usually follow their obsessions to some very bizarre and interesting conclusions, be it Joe Mantegna’s detective in “Homicide” (1991) or the title character in “Edmond” (2005). (more…)
Goldfinger in Digital
On April 19 I attended a small but significant moment in cinematic history - the first ever U.S. digital presentation of the James Bond movie “Goldfinger” (1964). “Goldfinger,” originally shot on film, was shown digitally, meaning that no film was used for this presentation at New York’s Ziegfeld Theatre. (more…)
Smart People
OK I get it. In fact I got it within the first ten minutes. They’re all smart people (witness the title) but they’re messed up emotionally and, as a result, do dumb things. No doubt pseudo hip cineastes will be slapping their knees in fits of “I’m cool and edgy because I get this independent film of the moment” laughter each time “indie film queen du jour,” Ellen Page, delivers one of her snarky post “Juno” one liners. The rest of us, hopefully, will know better. (more…)
Planet B-Boy
I have always maintained that the mark of a good documentary is one that can take a subject that is of no interest to me and make it interesting. While I do not think “Planet B-Boy” will have me seeking out break dancing competitions, or giving more than a cursory glance at the “would be” break dancers in the Times Square subway station, I did come away from “Planet B-Boy” knowing a lot more about, and respecting, break dancing, or “B-Boying,” as I have learned it was called originally. (more…)
Rain in the Mountains (new to DVD)
“Rain in the Mountains,” a three time film festival winning comedy from Stuyvesant Town filmmakers Joe Melten and Christine Sullivan, is now available on DVD. The film is a fun, self assured low budget debut feature with a cast of non professionals who, while in no danger of garnering a segment on “Inside the Actors’ Studio” anytime soon, prove to be game enough to put over this nutty, silly, wisp of a story. (more…)